Behavioral health demand has surged by more than 40% since 2020, but access alone is no longer a sufficient measure of success. Health plans are re-evaluating their networks through the lens of outcomes, measured by recovery rates, reduced readmissions and total cost of care. Increasingly, the focus is on high cost, high acuity conditions where specialty providers are essential to delivering the right treatment at the right time.
A More Rigorous Approach to Network Design
NovaOne partners with specialty behavioral health providers through a highly selective and data-driven process. Providers are evaluated based on clinical outcomes, adherence to evidence-based treatment models, care coordination capabilities, technology integration and willingness to participate in robust data sharing. This rigorous vetting ensures that only providers who meet clearly defined performance standards are included in the network.
Once onboarded, providers participate in outcomes-based contracting and ongoing quality monitoring. Performance is continuously evaluated using standardized metrics, enabling health plans to understand what is working, where improvement is needed and how care delivery translates into real-world results. This level of transparency creates accountability across the network and supports continuous improvement over time.
Expanding Access Where It Matters Most
This approach is especially critical for members with serious mental illness, substance use disorders and other high cost, high acuity conditions. It also addresses one of the most persistent challenges in behavioral health: access for rural and underserved populations.
Many plans, particularly those serving members across large geographic regions, struggle to provide consistent specialty care outside of major metropolitan areas. NovaOne’s network design prioritizes providers with the ability to serve members regardless of location through virtual care, regional coverage models and coordinated referral pathways. This ensures that members in rural or out-of-state areas receive the same high-quality, evidence-based care as those in urban centers.
For health plans with broad regional footprints, including plans serving large rural populations, this model delivers meaningful access without sacrificing quality or outcomes.
Accountability That Drives ROI
The result is a behavioral health network built on accountability, transparency and ROI, core pillars of sustainable population health management. By aligning provider performance with measurable outcomes, NovaOne helps health plans and large self-insured employers move beyond access metrics and toward demonstrable value.
Explore NovaOne’s outcomes-based behavioral health network and learn how we help health plans and self-insured employers achieve measurable results where it matters most.
Sources: Milliman, HealthAffairs, McKinsey & Company